Time for more Reader Mail. Some are repeats, but they keep coming in so here we go.
Q. How does that Quick Clues thingy in the top right corner work? I (pick one) love / hate it because it's cool / stupid.
A. Thanks for asking. For a very long time nobody even noticed it. It pulls data from the xwordinfo.com database I put together. Clues are grabbed at random so many of them don't make sense out of context. Sorry.
Q. No, I mean how does it work technically?
A. Uh, ok, but only because there might be some good puzzle words here. In fact, if crosswords were as kind to geeks as to they were to English majors we'd see these all the time.
The module is an <iframe> which makes AJAX requests that return JSON formatted arrays of 20 clues, answers, and dates at a time and displays them in a timed JavaScript loop. Now you know.
Q. What makes you an expert on Crosswords? Are you some kind of insider?
A. I'm neither an insider nor an expert. I've never met a constructor or a champion solver. Will does not know my name.
Q. Orange posts her times every day. How fast are you?
A. I call myself average. I might be slower than that. I love puzzles but I'm not speedy.
Q. You post your solutions every day. How do I know they're right?
A. You don't. They might not be. I've been lucky so far but if any of the blogs listed on the left differ from my solutions, they're probably correct. If you disagree with my answers, post a comment and we can all discuss. Answers get checked the next day.
Q. Why don't you analyze each puzzle the way other blogs do?
A. Because other blogs do that so well. Also I'm too lazy to do that every day. I don't even post every day.
Q. So what's the point of your blog?
A. It satisfies my urge to write about a hobby I have lots of opinions about. It gives me a chance to share the joy of crosswords and connect with others of like mind. I hope someone out there is entertained. The best excuse for the existence of this blog is to surface interesting data that comes out of my stats site xwordinfo.com.
Q. Why can't I post a comment without solving that stupid distorted letter problem?
A. I've now turned comments requirements down as far as TypePad will let me. Most people won't get asked any more. If I get too much spam, I'll revisit. The most common technical name for the "stupid distorted letter problem" is CAPTCHA, a word which will someday appear in a NYT puzzle.
Q. Is it true that many of the James Bond films are based on your early career as a double-nought spy on Her Majesty's Secret Service?
A. Yes.
Like Linda G, I was hoping early on that the Tuesday February 5 puzzle by Peter A. Collins (answers) was going to serve up the Fours Seasonings — Simon and Garfunkel, not Vivaldi or even P.D.Q. Bach — so it was somewhat disappointing when that didn't work out. I realize it's completely unfair to hold a constructor accountable for not satisfying my completely unrealistic expectations, but there you go.
New fact of the day was that "The Oscars of magazine publishing" are the ELLIES. Orange has an explanation and picture.
